


Lay Down Your Weapon

by smilexdarling



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Coming Out, Developing Relationship, Emotional Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Falling In Love, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Emotional Abuse, Insecurity, Minor Character Death, Personal Growth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:37:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21664168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smilexdarling/pseuds/smilexdarling
Summary: When the Roses finally sell the town, Stevie gets an offer she never saw coming, but it might be just what she needs.
Relationships: Johnny Rose/Moira Rose, Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Stevie Budd/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

There were very few things that genuinely rendered Stevie speechless. In fact, she could probably count on one hand the amount of times she hadn’t had a snarky comeback at the ready, but if there was anyone that could do it, it was a Rose. 

“Stevie, did you hear me?”

She came back to herself, noticing the fading smile on Mr. Rose’s face. Right. Mr. Rose had said something, something important that was potentially heartbreaking if the tight, splintering feeling in her chest was any indication. 

“I—what?”

“Why don’t we sit down,” Mr. Rose ushered her over to the couch in the motel’s office. Once they were situated, he continued, “I said we did it. We sold the town. Signed the papers and filed them this morning, it’s all done.”

Oh yeah, that was why she was having a hard time remembering how to breathe. 

Stevie blinked and tried to reconcile the fact that it felt like the world was falling down around her with Mr. Rose’s beaming face. It was an odd choice of expression to make when delivering life altering news, but sure, why wouldn’t he be happy? He and Mrs. Rose had never planned to stay in Schitt’s Creek. They’d been trying to sell the place since the first moment they set foot in town. She should have seen this coming. 

Unfortunately, that did nothing to quell the panic clawing its way up her throat. 

“Congratulations? I guess,” she grimaced at her inability to feign enthusiasm. 

This was good. It was what they wanted, what would make them happy, and she wanted them to be happy. They could finally put this life and all of its indignities in their rearview mirror. Stevie would manage on her own just like she had before. Of course, Mr. Rose had promised she wouldn’t have to do this whole motel business thing alone, and she thought he’d meant it, but maybe that was naive. 

Mr. Rose, oblivious to her inner turmoil, clapped his hands and smiled brightly. “Thank you. You know what this means, don’t you?”

She stared at her lap, fighting the sting in her eyes, “Yeah.”

“This really changes everything,” Mr. Rose sighed, settling into the couch. “I can’t wait to get started.”

Stevie looked up, “Get started?”

“On the renovations. For the motel.” Mr. Rose mirrored her frown when she didn’t catch on. “Stevie, now that we have some real money to work with, we can finally do all of those renovations we’ve been talking about. We can turn this place into the luxury motel it deserves to be.”

She was such an idiot. 

Stevie looked away, ashamed to have truly believed Mr. Rose would just up and abandon her the moment he had the chance. He’d made a promise to her and he was a man of his word. 

Honestly, using the money from selling the town to fix up the motel hadn’t even crossed her mind. She had always assumed they were just talking abstractly about how cool it would be to have a little garden with a water feature out back, or whether a copper roof was realistic considering its durability, or how great it’d be to just have a new water heater. But all that time, Mr. Rose had been making plans because he loved the motel just as much as she did. 

“Are you sure that’s how you want to spend your money? You could do anything you wanted. You could—I don’t know—travel or move back to New York.”

She couldn’t resist tempting fate just a little bit. 

“Oh, we don’t want to leave,” Mr. Rose chuckled. “The kids are established here and I suppose Moira and I are, too. I can’t think of a better way to spend that money than fixing up the place that was our home for so long. And it’ll be really satisfying to watch that leaky ceiling get ripped out,” he winked. “Plus, there’s enough for us to travel. Moira’s already busy planning the trip, so we’ll do that pretty soon I think, and I was hoping you could get things started while we’re gone.”

“What do you mean?” The tightness in her chest was back. 

“Well, we’ll probably be gone for a few months. Moira is dead set on visiting as many of our old favorite destinations as possible, which means we’ll be going on a mini world tour. We want to do it right, take our time, enjoy seeing things we never thought we’d get to see again. Except for Bosnia, I think we’ll skip that one. 

“But I would hate to put off renovations any longer, so I thought it’d be a great project for you to manage. You could get the ball rolling and oversee things while we’re away.”

Stevie shook her head, “No, Mr. Rose, you don’t want me running a project that size. It’s—I’ve never managed a demolition site before. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

His face softened as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “That’s not true. When I started Rose Video, I had never owned a business, and we ended up being the second largest video rental chain in—“

“North America, I know, but this is different,” she pleaded. 

“Yes, because you’ve been running this place for a long time. We’ve outgrown our current facilities because of the success that you’ve helped cultivate. You’ve made this motel what it is, Stevie, and it’s only right that you be the one to turn it into something spectacular.” 

“No pressure,” Stevie deflated. 

“You can do it,” Mr. Rose stood. “Besides, you’ll still have Roland here,” he went into the back office, effectively ending the discussion. 

She sat there, wondering how the hell she ended up being put in charge of completely redoing the motel, with someone else’s money, all while her mentor and business partner was going to be traveling around the world. But yeah, at least she’d have Roland. 

“Fuck.”

* * *

Eventually, Stevie peeled herself off the couch and made it over to the desk. She really had no idea where to even begin, but despite the nerves and being convinced that Mr. Rose had lost his mind, she was also maybe just a little bit excited.

It could all go horribly wrong and it would be all her fault, but if she somehow managed to pull it off, it could be the best thing she’s ever done. 

The key to not ruining the motel and putting herself out of work forever, would be to assemble a team of people who did know what the hell they were doing, and where better to find those people than on the Internet? 

Her search only lasted about ten minutes before she realized there was way too much to consider: plumbers, electricians, architects, engineers, contractors, interior designers, the list went on and on, and she didn’t have the energy for a second meltdown before lunch.

Frustrated and even more convinced this was all going to be an unmitigated disaster, Stevie pushed away from the desk, let Mr. Rose know that she was taking her lunch, and fled. Maybe that was a dramatic way to put it, but it did feel like she was fleeing a crime scene. The crime of sullying her family’s legacy may not have happened yet, but it was inevitable. 

She drove without really thinking about where she was going, just needing to put space between her and the motel. It was a gloomy, cloudy day, but it felt appropriate considering how her day was going. Before she knew it, she was pulling up to the Town Hall and, at the sight of a familiar truck, she knew why she’d gone there. 

Bob was on the phone, arguing with Gwen about something, Roland was devouring a donut, and Mrs. Rose was regaling Ronnie with a dramatic tale that required a lot of sweeping hand motions. She took a fortifying breath and strode up to Ronnie’s desk.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” Ronnie looked both annoyed and grateful at the interruption.

“I need your help.”

Ronnie regarded her with an unimpressed look, probably because people didn’t demand things of Ronnie. Protocol dictated that you ask politely and then leave her the fuck alone so she could do her thing in peace. But protocol was for days when Stevie’s whole world hadn’t been turned upside down by the misplaced faith of a man who had famously lost everything because he trusted a man named Eli. 

“Stevie! I was just telling Veronica about the last time I was in Amsterdam. I was perambulating through the cobblestone streets at twilight only to be mistaken for a courtesan,” Mrs. Rose said with a proud smirk.

“Oh, um, that’s—Ronnie can we talk? Please?”

“Sure,” Ronnie shrugged but was to quick get up and lead them out to the parking lot. She leaned against her truck, crossing her arms, “What’s up?”

Stevie kicked at a piece of gravel, “The Roses sold the town.” Ronnie nodded. Right, Mrs. Rose had probably told her. “And Mr. Rose wants to use some of the money to renovate the motel and he’s decided that I should manage the whole thing but the closest I’ve ever come to building anything was in high school shop class where I got a D on my paper towel holder and I guess I was just wondering if you could please help me?”

Ronnie blinked, making no indication either way about how sympathetic she was feeling. “How big of a job are we talking?”

“Um, I think a full gut job.” 

Ronnie mulled it over and a ray of sunshine broke free of the clouds, blinding Stevie momentarily. “Okay.” 

Still blinking light spots out of her eyes, Stevie asked, “Okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll send someone over to talk plans and then we’ll get you a bid. You gonna be at the motel tomorrow morning?” Stevie nodded. “That everything you needed?”

“Uh, do you know any electricians or plumbers?”

Ronnie pushed off of her truck to head back up the stairs, “I’ll connect you to the right people. You know,” she paused on the stairs, “I could really go for some fancy cheese right about now.” With that, she went back inside, the door clicking shut behind her. 

* * *

The bell over the Rose Apothecary door jingled as Stevie stormed through it in hot pursuit of their refrigerator.

“What’s the fanciest cheese you have?”

“Um, good morning to you, too,” David fake smiled at her from behind the counter. 

“It’s 12:30.”

“Okay,” he frowned and walked over to her, taking the two cheeses she’d grabbed out of her hands and putting them back in the fridge. “Why the sudden intense need for cheese? Oh my god, are you pregnant? If you’re gonna barf, I’m gonna have to ask you to do it outside. Patrick just cleaned our bathroom.”

Stevie shoved at his shoulder, “First of all, I’m pretty sure pregnant people can’t have cheese, and no I’m not pregnant. You know I’ve been going through a dry spell lately. I owe Ronnie because she’s helping me out with the motel.”

“What are you doing to the motel?”

“We’re renovating it.” He continued to stare at her like she’d grown a second head. “With the money from the sale of the town?”

“What?” David reared back, “When did that happen? I’ve been texting my mom all morning, she’s just been going on and on about the massages she used to get in Thailand. She made no mention of them selling the town.”

Stevie plucked a grape out of one of the fruit crates on display and popped it in her mouth, “Apparently it went through this morning and your parents have already planned a vacation around the world. A greatest hits of their glory days, if you will.”

David rolled his eyes, “Of course they have. So, this means you’re renovating the motel and Ronnie is somehow involved?”

“Yeah, get this, I’ve been put in charge of managing the whole thing,” David frowned in sympathy. “So obviously I asked Ronnie if she would help and she agreed and now I need to get her some cheese. Fancy cheese. And maybe a vintage wine. Maybe one for me, too.”

“Okay, well you’re going to have to pay me actual money for all of that because Patrick will divorce me if we keep giving you all of our stock for free, but Stevie. This is huge.”

She bit into another grape in an attempt to hide her grin. 

It was a big deal. The fact that Mr. Rose thought she could handle something of this big was really something. It scared the shit out of her, there was so much that could go wrong, but it also felt good to be trusted with such a responsibility. 

Outwardly, she just shrugged, but David saw through it. He gave her a lopsided grin and began gathering up all of the provisions she requested. It was pricey, but she definitely owed Ronnie for giving her some of her sanity back. 

* * *

The next morning found Stevie lying wide awake at six o’clock staring at the ceiling above her bed as she listened to the sounds of her neighbors getting ready for the day. She didn’t usually go into work until nine, but after a fitful night of sleep she was officially awake and couldn’t stand the idea of staying in bed with her thoughts for another minute. She got up and made herself an omelette to go with her usual coffee before sitting down and eating it slowly.

The thing was, Stevie hadn’t been given many opportunities to really see what she was capable of. She had been a mediocre student and never thought much about her future. It wasn’t like anyone had ever asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, and she didn’t have a plan in mind throughout high school other than to make it through each day. The main reason she went to college to put off the inevitability of working at the motel. At the time, it felt like once she took her post behind the front desk, it would all be over for her. Her life would have reached its final stage and from there on out it would be the same tired bullshit day in, day out. 

Fortunately, running the motel hadn’t been all bad. It wasn’t difficult, but that also meant it wasn’t too interesting. If it hadn’t been for the Roses showing up, she very well may have never woken up and realized she not only wanted more, but could have more. 

Mr. Rose agreeing to partner with her had been the first time anyone had taken a real chance on her. He saw how she ran things on her own, but for some reason he still believed that together they could turn the business around. 

Then Mrs. Rose had given her that role in Cabaret, and it hadn’t crashed and burned. Shockingly, it had been a hit. She’d never worked so hard for something before, dance lessons were no joke and she still couldn’t feel her left pinkie toe from those character shoes, but it had paid off. Having something to work toward with people who believed in her had shifted her view of herself. It was a small shift, but a little bit of her insecurity had chipped away after Cabaret.

And David and Alexis both managed to create thriving businesses of their own in town, something she never thought was possible. Schitt’s Creek had always seemed stagnant, like a fixed entity that couldn’t be changed. But they took a chance and it had worked. 

The Roses showed her how to take risks. They showed her that while something might be scary, it could still be worth it, as long as you tried. It was certainly better than never giving anything a shot, which was how she used to approach life. It was easier to never put herself out there and risk failure, but it was supremely unsatisfying to stay in her boring little bubble, watching everyone from behind the same old desk. The renovation could be her chance to make a mark on Schitt’s Creek and show herself once and for all that she wasn’t a nobody from nowhere. 

It could all blow up in her face, but she at least she wouldn’t be alone to pick up the pieces. 

On that hopeful note, Stevie put her plate in the sink and got dressed. 

Since she was having her first official meeting with whoever Ronnie was sending over, she decided to spring for one of her less tattered flannels. She did a final once over, pleased with how the red of her shirt made her look kind of vampy, and headed out. 

* * *

Thanks to her early start, she had time to stop at the cafe. It was weird seeing the early morning crowd, she didn’t recognize half of them, but it was nice seeing Twyla before she’d gotten flustered by the breakfast rush. 

“Wow, Stevie! We don’t usually see you in this early,” Twyla said as she handed a customer a menu.

Stevie sat at the counter, “Yeah, I just have a lot to do today. Can I get my usual coffee and a couple of blueberry muffins?”

“Sure,” Twyla rang up her food and wished her luck with her busy day. “You should come in early more often.”

“Um, maybe,” Stevie smiled, knowing full well that wasn’t going to happen. She rushed out the door before Twyla could rope her into joining her cousin’s niece’s bookclub or something equally mind-numbing.

She stopped on the sidewalk outside the cafe for a moment to soak up the morning sun. The warmth felt good on her face as she considered what a momentous day it could be. It called for a moment to pause and revel in all of the conflicting emotions swirling around inside of her. Taking a breath, Stevie started walking.

Once the parking lot came into view, she noticed an unfamiliar green truck gleaming in the sunlight, which meant she was already late. She cursed under her breath and hurried into the office. 

“Hey, sorry I kept you waiting. Ronnie didn’t say what time you’d show up,” she said to the back of the guy leaning against the front desk. 

The guy who was very hot, even from behind, and Stevie took a second to appreciate how the denim button down and black jeans he was wearing fit him in all the right ways. He turned and Stevie’s cheeks instantly flushed red.

“No problem. I haven’t been here long. I’m Sunny,” the handsome stranger, who was definitely a woman, said as she offered her hand with a warm smile.

Stevie quickly set her coffee and muffins down so she could shake Sunny’s strong, soft hand, and tried not to get lost in her brown eyes that stood out against her gold wire-rimmed glasses. And yep, that was a sleeve of tattoos on her forearm, poking out from under her partially rolled shirt sleeves. The room was suddenly very hot.

“I’m Stevie, I’m the motel—I own the motel,” she shook herself, flushing further with embarrassment. “I co-own it with my partner, who will be taking a back seat role for this project, so the meetings with mostly just be with me.” She mentally patted herself on the back for making it through one whole sentence without issue. 

Sunny’s eyes sparkled in amusement, “Good to know. Well, I’m an architect, your architect if you like what I come up with, and I was thinking we could get started by talking through what you had in mind. Then I’ll draw up some plans and get you an estimate for how much it’ll cost.”

Not trusting herself to speak again, Stevie simply nodded and led them to the couch. In that moment, she wished they had a conference room so they could sit at an actual table and not be squished together on a tiny couch. Thank fuck she remembered to put on deodorant. 

“So, Ronnie said you want to do a major renovation and I, um. Are you alright?” 

Stevie realized she was staring like a total creep, so she subtly shifted a little further away from Sunny in the hope that it would help her calm down. It did not. She took a surreptitious breath to pull herself together.

“Yes, sorry, too much coffee,” she cleared her throat. “I’d like to replace as much as possible, but I also want to keep the original foundation if we can.”

Sunny nodded and pulled her laptop out of her bag, “Do you know when it was built?”

“Uh, no.” 

She felt ridiculous not knowing such a basic thing about her family’s business, but it wasn’t like her grandma had waxed poetic about the place when she was alive. It had always just been the family’s dumpy motel, nothing worth talking about. 

“That’s okay, the town probably has a record of it. It’s helpful to know so I can get an idea of what materials were most likely used, things like asbestos and lead paint,” Sunny typed away on her computer with a cute little furrow between her brows. After a moment, she angled herself more toward Stevie, “Tell me what you’d like this place to be.”

Stevie blinked. 

She’d been so wrapped up in worrying about whether or not she could handle this whole thing, she’d completely failed to think about the finer details of what she wanted to do with it. Sure, she and Mr. Rose had thrown some silly ideas around in the past, but nothing that specific. Nothing she could tell Sunny who was waiting patiently for her to say something.

Before she could fall too far down her self-hatred spiral, Sunny put her laptop on the coffee table, “Hey, it’s okay if you’re not sure yet. There’s a lot to think about and it can be daunting, but we can talk through it together.”

“I just, I don’t know much about any of this and I don’t want to screw it up.”

Sunny’s eyes softened, “You won’t. We’re in this together, okay?”

Stevie nodded, giving Sunny a shaky smile. 

“Okay,” Sunny grabbed her laptop again, “When in doubt, google that shit.” That startled a laugh out of Stevie and Sunny shot her a conspiratorial smirk.

They spent the better part of an hour looking through images of luxury motels across the country, there were way more than Stevie previously thought, and through some of Sunny’s portfolio. By the end of it, they had a more concrete idea of what Stevie wanted. 

They decided to keep the motel at one level, since adding an entire second floor was out of their budget and Stevie didn’t think they needed that many rooms, anyway. Sunny suggested that they turn the upstairs of the main office into an executive suite, which was an idea that intrigued Stevie immensely. 

Stevie definitely didn’t want anything to be too showy or extravagant. She just wanted a simple, welcoming vibe that was as aesthetically pleasing as it was practical. Sunny had a bunch of ideas for how to keep costs lower by recycling materials and she introduced Stevie to the world of sustainable, eco-friendly building, something Sunny was clearly passionate about. Assuming the foundation of the building was sound, they wouldn’t have to redesign much in terms of layout. Sunny came up with a few options for reworking their laundry and storage facilities and she even had some ideas about covered parking, which Stevie was immediately on board with. 

All in all, by the time Sunny had put her laptop back in her bag, Stevie had forgotten ever dreading the project to begin with. She couldn’t wait to see the official designs, confident that Mr. Rose would approve. 

“Now, if it’s not too disruptive, I’d like to take some measurements,” Sunny had grabbed what looked like a very involved, expensive measuring tape out of her bag. That thing was like a Mary Poppins’ bag. 

“Oh sure. Do your thing.”

Sunny flashed her a smile and got up to work measuring the office. Stevie opted to stay on the couch, unsure of what to do with herself and not wanting to get in the way. 

She couldn’t take the silence though, “How long have you worked with Ronnie?”

“A couple of months.”

Stevie frowned, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around,” and she definitely would’ve remembered. “Are you from Elmdale?” 

Sunny focused intently on whatever she was scribbling in her notepad, “No, I live here. I guess I just haven’t gotten out much since I moved. You know, with work and unpacking, it’s been hectic.”

It was clear Sunny wasn’t into Stevie’s line of questioning, so she changed the subject. 

“My friend’s playing at an outdoor concert thing in a couple of weeks. It’s a fundraiser for the high school. Apparently they’ve decided it’s time to replace the textbooks they’ve been using since the fifties.” Sunny stopped measuring and looked at Stevie with a small, hopeful grin. “Uh, so yeah, there’s gonna be a few local artists playing and my friend, Patrick, is actually really good so it won’t totally suck and you should come. If you want.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Well, Patrick is good, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much, it’s still Schitt’s Creek. Chances are at least one act will feature a kazoo.” 

Sunny laughed, “I’ve got to see that.” She motioned toward the stairs, “Is it okay if I head up there next?”

“Yep, I’ve got some emails and stuff to get to anyway. Feel free to go wherever you need to and if you need anything else I’ll just be right here. Or at the desk. One of those two places,” Stevie bit her lip. She should not be allowed to talk to people ever.

“Great,” Sunny smiled warmly again before heading up. 

Stevie watched her go before forcing herself to go sit at the desk and at least pretend she was a productive business owner who had a functioning brain, because it was starting to look questionable. She pulled up a game of solitaire and tried not to think too hard about why she was so flustered, but trying not to think about it just made it impossible not to think about it and that’s how she found herself spacing out to the memory of how Sunny’s eyes lit up when she was explaining the importance of environmentally friendly insulation materials. Which then reminded her that Sunny had an adorable dimple in her left cheek that came out with every smile. Adorable might be a strange word to describe a woman who wore sturdy-looking work boots and had strong forearms, but she was. Stevie was a little horrified with herself when she let out an audible sigh.

Just as she was about to go full-swoon, the door banged open.

“Stevie!”

She jerked, “Roland.”

“Stevie, I can’t believe you would do this to me. I’m the handyman for this motel and to go behind my back like this is just cruel.”

“What are you talking about?”

Roland huffed, “Don’t play coy with me. I saw the truck in the parking lot, the one with the ladder. I guess I should’ve known this day would come, but where’s the loyalty? Have I not been a star employee?”

“No, you have not.”

“Stevie, this is serious. Roland Junior has gotten used to a certain lifestyle and if I lose this job I’m gonna have to stop buying that organic applesauce he loves so much. You wouldn’t do that to a baby, would you?”

“He’s five years old, Roland, and you’re not out of a job. That’s our architect’s truck.”

Roland stood taller, “Oh. Well in that case, as the mayor of this town, I should meet this architect with his fancy shmancy truck that he thinks he can just park anywhere.”

That was the moment Sunny came back down the stairs. Stevie gestured toward her, “Roland this is our architect Sunny. What was it you were saying about her truck? Something about where she parked it, or…?”

Roland didn’t respond as he stood there blinking owlishly as Sunny approached with an apologetic smile. 

“Sorry, I didn’t see any signage indicating it was a reserved spot. I can go move it.”

“N-no that won’t be necessary, sir. I mean ma’am. Um—“

“Roland’s our handyman and you’re free to ignore him entirely,” Stevie cut in before he could say anything else potentially rude.

“I do that more as a favor to Stevie and Johnny, out of the goodness of my heart, you see. It’s nice for the mayor to help out the local folk as much as he can. Which is why I do it. Because I’m the mayor,” he finally shook Sunny’s hand.

“Wow, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You know my wife and I have been thinking about adding on to our house. You should come over for dinner sometime so we can—“

“Roland,” Stevie interrupted, “weren’t you going to clean the gutters today?”

“Sure, let me just finish—“

“You should really go do that now. Before it rains.”

Roland frowned, “There’s no rain in the forecast.”

Stevie looked between him and Sunny, “Uh, no but you never know what the weather’s going to do. Best to do it while you can.”

“Yeah maybe you’re right,” Roland sucked air through his teeth. “My knee’s been acting up, so we could be in for a doozy.”

He wandered out the door with a put upon limp and then the room was quiet.

Sunny turned to her, “So that’s the mayor.”

“Yeah.”

Sunny grinned, “I like this place.”

Stevie had no idea what to say to that. She was pretty sure she had never heard anyone utter those words in reference to Schitt’s Creek, especially after meeting Roland.

“I’m gonna go get the rest of my measurements and then I’ll get out of your hair.” She paused before opening the door, “I have a good feeling about this project, Stevie. I think we’ll make a great team.” 

The door closed, leaving Stevie to look around for a clue about whether or not the entire morning had been a fever dream. When she heard the sound of Roland dropping a ladder and swearing outside, she decided it had to be real. 

Well, she knew it was going to be an adventure.


	2. Chapter 2

The next two weeks were chaotic, to say the least. 

Ronnie, true to her word, came through with an electrician and plumber and contacts for all of the materials Stevie could ever possibly want, which meant Operation Rosebud was officially under way. 

Sunny had emailed her a few drafts that she made notes on and now she just had to wait for her to draw up the final plans for them to go over before sending them off to town council for approval. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rose were all packed and ready to leave for their trip, which was estimated to last about four months, just long enough for the bulk of the work to be done, assuming everything went according to plan. 

And Stevie, despite having moments here and there where she was gripped with uncertainty all over again, felt pretty good about everything. She’d had a few sleepless nights trying to make sense of the budget and googling how to read blueprints, but she was more eager than anything else. 

All the while, she was still running the motel which was regularly booked to about 85 percent capacity and she had never felt so busy or satisfied in her life. It was going to be hard closing temporarily for construction, but Alexis was already hard at work on brand management and marketing for their big relaunch. She had also appointed herself their interior designer and was going to present her designs at some point in the near future. Stevie was a little worried about what she might come back with, but it would have to be better than anything she could throw together herself, and she was giving them a discount for her services, so that was an easy decision. 

With all of the chaos, she had almost forgotten about the concert, almost being the operative word. David absolutely would not shut up about it, taking every opportunity to remind any random person walking down the street or sitting near them at the cafe or shopping at the store that his husband would be performing and it was an event they didn’t want to miss. Stevie was looking forward to it, but once the day finally arrived, she was nervous. 

Sunny was going to be there because Stevie had gone and invited her like some kind of masochist and she had studiously avoided analyzing any of her feelings about Sunny since their first encounter. They had interacted via email and the occasional text, but she hadn’t seen her face to face since that first day. It was like living in a Victorian novel.

Stevie sniffed at a jar of moisturizer across from David at the store on her lunch break. He was yammering on about some vendor who had trouble with consistent product quality and she had cared for maybe the first ten minutes, but as his diatribe approached the thirty minute mark, she was finding it harder to pay attention. 

“I just don’t get why it’s so hard to keep track of how much vanilla scent you add to your candles. It’s literally his job, he should have like a recipe or something,” David set a bottle of soap down with a clunk.

Stevie glanced over at Patrick behind the counter and they shared an amused smirk. 

“It’s truly a crime against humanity. Are you going to be talking about this for much longer?”

“Ugh,” David huffed. “No, I’m over it.”

She wasn’t so sure about that, but she took advantage of the lull in conversation to switch topics. 

“So, I met with the architect for the motel.”

“Yeah, you’re going over the final plans next week, right?”

“Yeah,” Stevie paused. There was no way she was coming off as nonchalant, but she really needed to just fucking talk to someone about…stuff before she went insane. “She’s cool, and she seems like someone who would love the store. Maybe you’ve seen her? She’s tall, about your height, and wears glasses.”

When Stevie looked up she found David frowning at her. “I know it’s a small town, but I’m gonna need more to go off of than ‘tall and wears glasses’.”

She could already feel her face turning red, so she shrugged and hid behind her hair as she picked up a random bottle off the shelf to inspect, “I don’t know, she’s got short, black hair and tattoos and she looks like she could pick up heavy stuff?”

This time when she peeked up at him, David was pursing his lips to hold back a knowing grin. “And she smells good, and looks like an architect. I don’t know what more you could possibly need to know,” Stevie finished with a huff.

“Mm, right. Well smelling good does narrow it down,” David tilted his head, smiling at her. 

“What?”

“You like this woman, this architect,” he drew out ‘architect’ and made an awful squinty face. 

“I barely know her,” Stevie protested. 

“But you seem to remember a lot about how she looks and you want to know if I’ve seen her, so. That sounds like interest, doesn’t it, Patrick?”

“Hm?” Patrick looked up, confused, from something that looked complicated on their computer. 

David rolled his eyes fondly, “Do you remember the woman that came in last week, the one that bought the cologne and the toilet brush?”

“You mean the one that said she was pleased to see that we did in fact carry toilet brushes because they had been so hard to find seeing as they were hidden in the back? That woman?”

“Okay, that’s not what this is about. Toilet brushes are gross, they’re staying where they are.” David took a breath, “Did you happen to catch her name?”

“Yeah, hold on.” Patrick opened up a new file. “She left her contact info so we could let her know when the next shipment of coffee gets in. Sunny?”

David looked at Stevie for confirmation and she nodded. “Thanks, honey. You can go back to your turn tables now.”

“They’re pivot tables, David.”

David either didn’t hear him or chose to ignore him because suddenly he was on a mission. He tugged Stevie to the back room where they had added a little loveseat and pulled her down onto it. 

“You have a crush.”

“David—“

“You have a crush on a cologne-wearing, coffee drinking, tattooed architect. Why are you trying to be cooler than me?”

Stevie sighed, unsure of where to begin. It was hard to verbalize your feelings when you weren’t totally sure what it was you were feeling.

“I don’t know if it’s a crush. I’ve never felt like this, especially after literally one meeting when I was sleep deprived. It could just be excitement over the renovation that I’m projecting onto her because she’s this really nice person who calmed me down when I started freaking out about how in over my head I am.”

David started twisting his rings, thinking. “That could be what’s happening, or you could just be falling for a tall dark and handsome newcomer who’s smart and creative and who does smell very good, if she’s using our cologne.”

“I’ve never—” Stevie stopped. She was going to say that she had never had feelings for a woman before, but the second that thought popped into her head, she knew it wasn’t true. 

She had liked other women, but she always thought those feelings were just feelings of admiration. It never occurred to her that what she used to feel for her lab partner in college could be anything more than platonic. And, yeah, fantasizing about women didn’t necessarily mean she was interested in dating them, but, she also hadn’t really thought about dating a woman before and now that she was, especially if she was picturing Sunny, the idea made her feel warm and fuzzy? Ugh. Feelings were so gross. 

David somehow gleaned what she was thinking just from the look on her face and his expression shifted from gleeful to understanding, “This doesn’t have to be a whole identity crisis if you don’t want it to be. You can just like a person who happens to be a woman. It doesn’t have to be any deeper than that.”

It was sweet of him to say, but she knew it wouldn’t be that easy to bottle this revelation back up now that the idea had presented itself. She didn’t know what the hell all of it meant, if she was bi or, or something else, but maybe she could figure that out while also letting herself enjoy the feeling of having a crush.

It had been a while since the whole thing with Emir and she wasn’t kidding about having a dry spell. Even hooking up with randoms was starting to feel rote and tiresome, so she had sort of stopped, opting to take care of business alone with her rapidly growing collection of toys. 

But thinking about going out with Sunny, maybe even kissing and, fuck, having sex with Sunny? That was lighting her up from the inside and she was going to have to examine that line of thinking later when she wasn’t sharing a loveseat with her best friend. Speaking of going out with Sunny—

“She’s coming to the concert tonight.” 

David’s gaped, “Really?”

“I invited her. She said she doesn’t get out much, so I thought—anyway, she’s coming.”

“Stevie, this is perfect. I’ll help you figure out what to wear and then the wooing can commence.”

She quirked her brow, “I’ll be wearing exactly what I’m in right now, and ‘wooing’?”

“Yes, wooing. If you want to get the girl you’ve gotta woo the girl. And with Patrick singing, she’ll be so taken by the romance of it all she won’t be able to resist you.”

“I just don’t want to make myself look any more like an idiot than I already have. I don’t know how to talk around her, it’s like my brain jams up and I don’t know what’s coming out of my mouth until I’ve already embarrassed myself.”

David grinned again.

“Stop doing that,” Stevie glared.

He shrugged, “I just like this for you, having a crush to get all worked up over. You deserve it.”

She couldn’t very well glare when he was being all gooey and sincere, so she huffed and looked away, tamping down her own grin. 

It was nice, terrifying and confusing, but nice. She did deserve it and maybe nothing would come of it, but then, maybe something would. 

* * *

If Mrs. Rose could see her in that moment, she would probably say Stevie was well and truly discombobulated. 

She had rushed home after work, frustrated that she did end up needing to change into a different outfit for the concert because Roland had asked for her help with changing the oil in the lawn mower and had proceeded to spill the oil all over her. She decided it was worth it to try and wash off the whole incident with a nice hot shower, but she had to rush because she was meeting David and Patrick to walk to the concert, and she only had about 45 minutes to get her shit together. 

Out of the shower in record time, smelling and feeling a little more human, she scrubbed the oil marks off her face, brushed her hair, and got dressed. Her stomach growled, but she ignored it because the one saving grace about these concerts was the food. There was a lot of it and it consisted mostly of fried things. Aside from the food, it was a low-key event, meaning there was no provided seating, just a big open field and a stage, so she grabbed her grandma’s picnic blanket and locked the door behind her. 

The only good thing about having to hurry is that it meant she didn’t have time to stress about seeing Sunny until she had met up with David and Patrick outside the store and was walking alongside them. They were talking about something sporty, possibly Patrick’s baseball team, she wasn’t sure because suddenly all she could think about was how in mere minutes she’d be seeing Sunny again for the first time since she realized she was developing feelings for her. She hugged her blanket closer to her chest and focused on taking slow, even breaths. 

Soon enough, she could smell popcorn and see the rows of trees lining the park’s main walkway strung up with twinkle lights, casting a romantic glow as the sun began to set. 

Patrick kissed David goodbye before heading toward the stage to get set up, leaving him and Stevie to scope out the perfect spot in the grass. There was a good turnout, but most people were congregated around the food booths, so they were able to secure a prime location close enough to the stage that David could get some good groupie pics of Patrick, but far enough that they’d still be able to hold a conversation. 

Stevie shook out the blanket and settled it down, claiming a corner that didn’t have a mysterious stain on it. 

“I’m starving so I’m gonna go get food. I’m assuming you want one of everything?”

“Yes, please,” Stevie nodded. 

“Wish me luck,” he grimaced at the long lines. Stevie saluted him and once he’d strode off, began scanning the crowd. 

More people began making their way over to the concert area. There were a few clumps of awkward teenagers, a lot of parents with kids running around, shrieking excitedly, and a surprising amount of older couples in lawn chairs. Between the ambience created by the twinkle lights and the warmth of the evening breeze, Stevie felt herself relax. 

She watched a couple of gangly techies rush around on stage, setting everything up, looking important in their all black ensembles and headsets. She was so invested in the outcome of the drama that erupted over a broken mic stand that she didn’t notice someone walk up next to her. 

“Hi.”

Sunny stood with her hands clasped in front of her, a shy smile bringing out her dimple.

“Hi. You can sit. You should sit. Sit,” Stevie cringed. 

Sunny smiled wider as she sat across from her, “It’s good to see you.”

“You, too.” Stevie bit her lip and looked away, overwhelmed at how good Sunny looked. Her memory hadn’t done her justice. 

They fell silent until they met each other’s eyes again and laughed, breaking the tension. 

“Oh, I wanted to let you know I’ve got a final draft of the blueprints. Are you free sometime next week to go over them?”

“Yeah, whenever you want.” Realizing that sounded a little desperate, Stevie corrected, “I mean. I think I have some time on Wednesday. If that’s good for you?”

“Wednesday it is,” Sunny nodded before looking around, taking in the growing crowd. “I had no idea Schitt’s Creek had gotten so big.”

“Yeah, business has been picking up for a little while now. Wait,” Stevie paused, “I thought you just moved here?”

“I did, but I used to visit my Uncle Ray here when I was a kid. I haven’t been back in a while and it took me a bit to get settled after the move, so I haven’t really explored the town.”

“Your Uncle Ray? As in, Ray Butani?” 

Sunny nodded, “You know him?”

Stevie froze, unsure of how to process this new information, which was right when David reappeared, arms laden with food. 

“I had to elbow past some extremely rude soccer moms, but I got us the last funnel cake. Oh, hi,” he noticed Sunny and immediately blinked cartoonishly at Stevie. She glared at him, but luckily Sunny didn’t seem to pick up on his weirdness as she stood to help him set all of the food down. 

Stevie introduced them to each other and was swiftly forgotten when David gasped, “Oh my god, are those Givenchy?” He gestured at Sunny’s glasses. 

“Yeah,” Sunny brought her hand up to them, “I’m a bit of an eyewear fiend.”

“And those are McQueen,” this time he pointed at her boots, eyes wide. 

Stevie didn’t understand why he was getting so worked up over the designers of Sunny’s clothes, but clearly it meant something to him. They were nice, and looked incredible on her, but they just looked like normal glasses and boots. However, the fact that David was starting to tear up indicated otherwise. 

“Oh, um, I think so? They were a gift from my aunt,” Sunny flushed, looking a little thrown off by his enthusiasm, but pleased all the same, as she scratched the back of her head, pulling her sleeve taut around her bicep.

“Please tell me you don’t get like sawdust or spackle or whatever on them,” David beseeched.

“Don’t worry, I only wear these on special occasions.”

David widened his eyes at Stevie before mouthing ‘special occasions’, she glared again in a vain attempt to get him to act natural. They all dug into the food before he piped up again, “So, what brought you to Schitt’s Creek?”

Sunny stiffened, not meeting his eyes, “Uh, my uncle lives here and I needed a fresh start, I guess. He told me the town was flourishing and that I’d have no problem finding work, so I thought why not. He was right, the town’s come a long way since the last time I visited.”

“Who’s your uncle?”

Stevie’s eyes sparkled as she answered for her, “Ray.” 

Never one to disappoint, David’s eyes bugged out, but he managed not to choke on his pizza. 

“Um,” he swallowed with a grimace, “wow.”

“I take it you both know him?”

“He’s seen me naked,” David said flatly.

Sunny blinked in shock as David launched into that whole story. He and Stevie shared their favorite Ray anecdotes and gave her a rundown of the people in town, how they were all interrelated, and who had beef with who. By the time they’d muddled through explaining Twyla’s vast and complex family tree, Patrick had taken the stage. A hush fell over the crowd as he greeted everyone.

“That’s my husband,” David whispered to Sunny. She smiled at his proud glow and listened intently as Patrick explained the lineup of acts before taking a seat on the lone stool in center stage and strumming his guitar. 

He started off with a couple of head-boppers that got the crowd clapping and eager for more. David was beaming, pleased that everyone was reacting to his husband with the correct amount of enthusiasm. 

Patrick finished the song and leaned back into the mic, “We’ve got a great crowd tonight. I saw you dancing back there,” he pointed to a group of girls who whooped, making him chuckle. “Before we get the next artist out here, I’ve got one more song, a personal favorite, that I think you’re all gonna like, so settle in and enjoy.” She knew what was coming before he even played the first note.

Letting the opening bars of “Simply the Best” wash over her, Stevie closed her eyes and tipped her head back. Everything Patrick sang was beautiful, but something about the way he covered that song was special.

A sniffle drew her attention to her left. David wiped gingerly at his eyes, on the verge of blubbering, and when she leaned forward a bit to see Sunny, she found her looking misty-eyed as well. Patrick was good. 

The final notes rang out and after a beat, the crowd erupted into cheers. David shot up off the blanket to give him a standing ovation, Sunny and Stevie joining him a moment later. Patrick ducked his head, thanking the crowd before making his exit. 

“That was amazing,” Sunny breathed.

“Yeah, he always is,” David nodded, his voice thick with emotion.

“Oh no, is that—“ Sunny’s nose scrunched adorably as the next act came out, a kazoo choir playing the Harry Potter soundtrack. 

Stevie looked back at Sunny, “Told ya.”

She shook her head laughing, “I’m so glad I moved here. Where else can you hear John Williams played on kazoos?”

“Hell?” David asked. 

“Hey guys,” Patrick bounded up to them, accepting their praise and David’s exuberant kiss. “Nice to see you again, Sunny. Your coffee came in, so I put it aside for you.”

“Thanks. I’ll swing by to get it tomorrow,” Sunny cleared a space in the remnants of their food mountain for him to sit. 

They survived the kazoos, and the juggler who almost lit himself on fire, and breathed a sigh of relief when a little girl took the stage to play the drums. She was really good, and got the second standing ovation of the night, before everyone packed up to leave.

Stevie was folding up the blanket when she noticed Sunny hanging back. She shot Patrick a meaningful look. 

“Uh, let’s go look at the bathrooms,” he grabbed David’s hand and dragged him away before David could question it. 

She and Sunny watched them go before sneaking looks at each other and smiling awkwardly. 

“I had a lot fun tonight. Thanks for inviting me, I don’t think I would’ve come if you hadn’t,” Sunny admitted.

“Do you, uh…” Stevie took a shaky breath, “do you want to hang out again sometime?” She forced herself to maintain eye contact because she had to know if she’d completely misread everything or— 

“Just us? Like, a date?” Sunny asked. 

“Yeah, if you want? We don’t have to, it’s fine, I shouldn’t have—“

Sunny’s hand settled on Stevie’s arm, “I’d like that.” Stevie mirrored her smile, feeling warm despite the slight chill in the air. 

She stammered out a promise to text Sunny later before accepting a quick hug, both of them chuckling at the blanket sandwiched between them making it awkward. Finally, they parted ways with bashful waves.

When she met back up with the boys, David demanded, “Well?”

She looked between them blankly for a moment, letting them sweat. “We’re going on a date.”

David swooped her up into a crushing hug, momentarily lifting her off the ground as Patrick said, “That’s great, Stevie. Any idea where you’re gonna take her?”

“Uh…no.” She really needed to work on her planning skills. “Holy shit. I have a date. I just asked a woman out and she said yes and now I’m taking her on a date.”

“We’ll help you come up with something,” David patted her shoulder. 

They walked her home and once she had gotten all nestled in bed, she got right back up to make a mug of tea. She was way too wired, there was no way she was falling asleep anytime soon. Sighing, she sipped her tea and thought about how much her life had changed in such a short period of time. It was a lot, but she was handling it. The motel hadn’t crumbled to the ground yet, and she thought she was doing pretty well considering she’d just had a major realization about her sexuality. 

The problem was, she really liked Sunny. Okay, it wasn’t a problem, per se, but it made everything more stressful. After Emir, she’d sworn off of getting emotionally attached to anyone ever again, and no one could blame her. Her dating history was ridiculous and rarely satisfying. She got her needs met most of the time, but things didn’t go beyond that into emotional connection territory. For the most part, that had been okay, but Sunny had come along and suddenly Stevie _wanted_. She wanted more with Sunny and that was terrifying. More meant she could be disappointed, more meant she could be heartbroken again.

Late night angst called for one thing: Sarah McLachlan. 

* * *

Sunny came to the motel as planned on Wednesday to go over their final blueprints. Mr. Rose asked all kinds of questions about things he clearly knew nothing about and Sunny indulged him good-naturedly. They signed off on the plans and Sunny bid them adieu with a wave for Mr. Rose and a wink for Stevie. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rose were flying out that afternoon for the first leg of their trip, so she gave him a business partner-ly pat on the shoulder and wished him a mildly emotional bon voyage. Handling the renovation, and Roland, herself when she had her safety net just fifteen feet away was one thing. Knowing he was on an entirely different continent was going to be another. Mr. Rose excused himself, and then she was alone in the quiet office. What was usually one of her favorite parts of her job, suddenly made her jittery. 

She considered changing the sheets in room three, but that wasn’t particularly urgent since they had officially suspended reservations. Basically, she had nothing but free time on her hands and the problem with free time was that it gave her mind time to wander. When it did that, it found all sorts of things to worry about. Like the fact that she still didn’t have a plan for her date with Sunny. 

She got up to wander around the room, flipping through the pamphlets on the wall, not really seeing whatever they were advertising. 

David had been right. Liking Sunny didn’t have to mean anything if she didn’t want it to, it could just be a fact, but she hated ambiguity. Once upon a time she would have been happy to simply shrug and move on, pushing down any questions or concerns that sprung to mind in favor of not dealing with her shit. But after the mess with Jake and not communicating her needs well enough, and misinterpreting things with Emir, she was done leaving things unresolved. If she wanted to be an adult who had her shit together, she needed to act like it. 

She picked up the payphone, pressing it to her ear before hanging it back up.

Growing up in Schitt’s Creek, people hadn’t been blatantly homophobic. She never heard anyone say disparaging things about the queer community or use any slurs, but that was because they had simply never said anything at all. It was like gay people didn’t exist. If it hadn’t been for Ronnie moving to town, she could have gone most of her life never meeting another queer person. 

She paused as she reached the staircase, catching sight of the small chip in the bannister. It looked innocuous enough, most people wouldn’t even notice it, but it brought back memories of her parents fighting. That chip in particular resulted from an especially volatile argument where her dad had thrown a mug across the room. She remembered flinching as it shattered from her spot at the top of the staircase, hoping the sound would jar him enough to calm down. It hadn’t. 

She always figured the reason she kept men at arms length, or fell for men who couldn’t give her what she wanted, was because she didn’t want to be like her parents. If loving someone meant having to get drunk to be able to stand each other, and then fighting viciously anyway, she wanted no part of it. 

But maybe that wasn’t the whole story. Maybe she’d assumed she was attracted to the wrong people. Maybe what she had always interpreted as excited butterflies, had actually been unease when a guy got too close. Maybe her inability to truly connect with a man meant she was looking in all the wrong places.

And it was stupid to feel the way she did so soon, but with Sunny—kind, gentle Sunny—she wanted to open herself up and be vulnerable. She wanted Sunny to know her, maybe even all of her, someday. She wanted to do all of that domestic shit Patrick and David did, like have date nights and stress over what to get each other for their anniversary and argue about whose turn it was to do the dishes. That wasn’t something she’d ever had the urge to do before and it felt good and overwhelming and scary. She was still a Budd, after all, and Budd’s weren’t known for being lucky in love.

She spun around slowly, taking in the old office. 

Generations of her family, for better or worse, had walked through this room. They hadn’t had the means to do much with it, but they had kept it running for decades, something she didn’t used to be proud of. Now that it was hers, she felt a strange, fierce protectiveness over it. She wanted to carry on the legacy, grow it, make it her own. And she was, thanks to the Roses.

With a deep sigh, she sat back down at the desk to look through the mail. The image of a painting with two women embracing caught her eye, and upon further inspection, she discovered that it was an advertisement for a new exhibit at the Elmdale Art Gallery featuring up and coming queer artists from the surrounding areas. 

Smiling to herself, she pulled out her phone and texted Sunny. 

That was that problem solved.

* * *

“Fuck. Why did I think this was a good idea?”

“Because you have a date with a dashing woman and you’re but a simple lesbian?”

Stevie shot David an unimpressed look before resuming her anxious pacing around his and Patrick’s bedroom.

“I don’t know for sure if I’m a lesbian, okay? The jury’s still out on that one.”

David held his hands up placatingly, “Sorry, forget I said anything. Now, while I assume people who frequent art galleries might not bat an eye at a woman with velcro rollers in her hair, you need to let me know if you’re committing to the unhinged look because, if so, that’s gonna change my vision for your outfit.”

She had forgotten her hair was in rollers, rushing over to David’s vanity to carefully take them out. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s just an art gallery in Elmdale, no big deal. But also I can’t stop sweating and I’ve showered twice.”

“Here’s your wine, Stevie,” Patrick appeared, beautiful angel that he was, with a glass of red wine.

“Thank you,” she snatched it from him and downed half of it in one go.

“Whoa,” Patrick blinked, his hand still outstretched. 

“Okay,” David got off the bed and plucked the glass from her, making her frown. “Patrick, sweetheart, I think it’s best if you take this far, far away until nerves aren’t running quite so high.” 

Patrick nodded and quickly fled.

David sat next to her on the tiny vanity bench that definitely wasn’t meant for two people, but the softness of his sweater and the warmth of his arm felt nice, grounding. She took a few steadying breaths before meeting his eyes in the mirror.

He gave her a small smile, “What would make this more enjoyable for you?”

“Alcohol.”

“Mkay, what else?” he asked, some snark breaking through. 

“I don’t know. I think—I respect your vision—but I think I need to feel like me tonight.”

He nodded, getting up and rifling through basically her entire wardrobe that she’d brought over and dumped onto his bed in a blind panic when she realized she had no idea what to wear. Leaving him to that, she turned back to look at herself. Her hair was on point, her loose curls smooth and shiny, and the makeup David had done wasn’t over the top. She just looked like a slightly more glamorous version of her every day self. 

“How about this?” David stood back from the bed with his arms crossed. 

He’d laid out a deep green flannel, a pair of jeans he’d bought her for her birthday that made her ass look amazing, and instead of her usual black converse, he’d set out her rarely worn Docs. Just like with her makeup, it was her, but with a little extra oomph. 

She felt some of the tension drain out of her as she breathed a sigh of relief, “It’s perfect.”

His face lit up and he left her so she could get dressed. Once she had everything on and gave herself one last look in the mirror, she joined David and Patrick in the living room. They clapped and whistled as she came into view, giving them a begrudging twirl. 

“I’d better get going, she’s picking me up in like twenty minutes.” 

They hugged her and wished her luck, their excited energy helping drive out some of the anxiety that had been building up all day. She couldn’t wait to see Sunny again. It had only been a couple of days, but still. 

Back at her apartment, she distracted herself with cat videos until there was a knock at her door. She stood, taking a few steps before faltering, feeling like an idiot for suddenly wanting to hide under the covers. A second knock, and she snapped herself out of it and rushed to open the door. 

She was definitely indebted to David because Sunny had also put extra effort into her look for the evening. Her usually floppy hair was styled more precisely, with a stubborn bit at the front that broke free and hung over her forehead. She wore a button down under what looked like a deliciously soft sweater, black jeans, and the same boots from the concert. She was painfully adorable, amplified by her shy side grin and wide eyes. 

“Wow. You look gorgeous,” Sunny breathed. 

Stevie ducked her head, feeling her face heat up, “So are you. Ready?” Sunny nodded and they made their way to Sunny’s truck, exchanging furtive glances all the way. 

They listened to Sunny’s Spotify on the drive into Elmdale, which consisted of mostly indie bands and artists Stevie had never heard of. There was one outlier, though, that made her huff a surprised laugh. 

“The Spice Girls? Seriously?”

Sunny smiled, turning the music up and singing along, “Yo, I’ll tell ya what I want what I really really want—“

Stevie joined in, “So tell me whatcha want, whatcha really really want—“

They belted out the rest of the song together, laughing and dancing and Stevie couldn’t remember the last time she had been so unabashedly dorky while not under the influence. 

The song ended just as they pulled up outside the gallery. Sunny turned the truck off and they sat there, coming down from the high, giggling at each other. 

“Let’s look at some art, shall we?” Stevie suggested in a terrible British accent. 

“Let’s shall,” Sunny nodded somberly. 

Of course, the second they walked in the door, they were accosted by a giant painting of a penis which resulted in them leaning into each other as they rode out another bout of giggles, disrupting the very serious art people who were glaring at them. 

They quickly shuffled off to the side of the room looking for safer territory, and found it in a collection of abstract sculptures. 

“Oh my god,” Sunny gasped as she quickly covered up the name plate next to one sculpture. “Guess what this one’s called.”

Stevie squinted at the piece thoughtfully, stroking her chin. It was a circular shape with a couple of long, squiggly things sticking out of it. She shrugged, “I have no idea.”

Sunny leaned in with a gleeful glint in her eyes, “Double penetration.”

“Oh my god,” Stevie laughed. 

They made a game out of it from there, going piece to piece trying to guess the names of each one. Some were tamer than others, but for the most part, they were sexual and Stevie was convinced her face had never been more pink. 

Finally, they wound their way through the gallery to a darker room that consisted solely of paintings. Stevie was relieved to note that one, the paintings were easier to make out, not so abstract, and two, they were more PG. She spent a minute looking at one of a father and son that made her heart ache. When she couldn’t look at it any longer, she turned in search of Sunny, who was stationed in front of smaller painting on the other side of the room.

Wordlessly, she sidled up next to Sunny and felt the last vestiges of sadness from the previous painting fade away. This one looked like something by Beatrix Potter with its subtle hues and soft, comforting lines. There were all different kinds of woodland creatures dancing around in a circle holding hands—or paws—smiling up at the rainbow over their heads in the middle of a grassy clearing in a forest. It was a little cult-y, but mostly sweet.

“It’s called ‘Family’,” Sunny whispered. “It makes me miss mine.”

Stevie paused at the sudden sincerity, “Where are they?”

Sunny blinked out of her reverie, looking at Stevie with somber eyes, “Winnipeg, mostly. They’re kind of sprinkled all over, but my parents and grandparents and most of my siblings are in Winnipeg. I haven’t visited in—in a while.”

“I guess I just assumed when you moved here, you had come from your home town.”

“No. I went away for university and since I graduated I’ve lived in New York and London mostly. I had a brief stint in Amsterdam.” 

“Wow.”

“Yeah. I used to visit more, and I talk to them on the phone all the time, but it’s not the same.”

Stevie cleared her throat, “So, if you’ve lived in all those incredible places, why move here?”

Sunny’s eyes dimmed and Stevie immediately wished she’d just kept her mouth shut, frantically searching her brain for a way to bring back that easy smile she’d grown so fond of.

“I needed a change,” Sunny fiddled with the cuff of her sweater. “I had been moving around for a while, going wherever work took me, but that took its toll. Then one day when I was talking to Uncle Ray on the phone, he was describing all the stuff going on here, and it just sounded—I don’t know. Simpler, I guess? Easier. And I needed that, so I didn’t think, I just packed up and moved. He was a huge help getting me settled, he’s got all the local intel.”

“You don’t say,” Stevie smirked.

Sunny huffed a laugh, “Anyway, I kind of kept to myself for the first little while. I’d sort of forgotten how to meet new people, but that’s turning around.”

Unable to formulate any kind of coherent response in the face of Sunny’s lopsided smile, Stevie simply averted her gaze and bumped her shoulder into Sunny’s before moving on to the last few paintings. 

Once they had thoroughly appreciated every piece in the gallery, they put some money in the donation box at the front desk and got back into Sunny’s truck. 

The sun was hanging low in the sky, casting them and the cabin of the truck in a warm, golden glow. Sunny’s eyes were somehow even more striking in the sunlight, making Stevie’s breath catch. She didn’t know what to do with herself, things that never affected her before kept taking her breath away. She needed to get a grip. 

With the truck turned on and the music hooked back up, MUNA’s “I Know A Place” came on. 

Sunny paused with her hands on the wheel, “It’s still kind of early. Would you want to—“

“Yes,” Stevie nodded.

Sunny chuckled, “Okay.” 

She pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to Schitt’s Creek, but instead of going into the heart of town, she drove straight through to the outskirts where it was mostly woods and weekend cabins. Stevie glanced at her, but didn’t ask what she was up to, opting to just enjoy the view as houses grew sparse and trees became more abundant. The evening sun flickered between the leaves as they drove past. It was funny, she thought, she used to hate Schitt’s Creek. For most of her life, she dreamt of getting out and never coming back. So much had changed since then. 

Now she had people, people that she couldn’t imagine not having in her life. She may not be living up to her wildest teenage dreams, but she was making a life for herself. It would still be nice to travel someday, but the urge to strike out wasn’t tinged with desperation anymore, just a desire to see what the world had to offer. Her life was comfortable, and that might not sound very sexy, but she was content. That was more than she ever thought she’d actually achieve. 

Eventually, Sunny pulled over on the side of the road and parked, looking at Stevie expectantly. 

Stevie looked around, “Uh…”

“Come on,” Sunny jumped out of the truck. 

Bewildered, Stevie undid her seatbelt and followed. Sunny guided her along the side of the road for a minute and Stevie was about to ask what the hell they were doing when suddenly the trees cleared and she understood.

There was a small scenic overlook showcasing a view that Stevie couldn’t believe she hadn’t known was so close to town. It was stunning. The forest stretched out for miles toward the hazy horizon, a blanket of green. 

“I like going for drives. It helps me think, and when I first moved here I had a lot to think about, so I drove. I found this place pretty early on and I haven’t been able to stay away. Something about that view makes me feel small, and not in a bad way. It just reminds me how insignificant my problems are, you know?”

Stevie reached out and laced their chilly fingers together. 

Sunny looked down at their hands and grinned. 

They watched the sun set in silence, hands clasped, as birds swooped majestically in the distance. 

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” Stevie said.

“Thank you for getting me out of my bubble.”

They shared a charged look before getting back in the truck. Stevie didn’t know where they were headed next and she found she really didn’t care. It was a jarring realization, but she’d go anywhere with Sunny in that moment.

After a few minutes of driving, they parked again, this time in front of a modest cabin almost entirely hidden by trees.

“Here we are.”

“We certainly are…here.”

“Wanna go inside?”

Stevie looked between the cabin and Sunny, “Can we?”

“Don’t worry, breaking and entering is more of a third date activity for me,” Sunny got out and walked up to the door, unlocking it and gesturing for Stevie to go in first. 

“This is Uncle Ray’s cabin. Technically it’s his Airbnb, but he doesn’t get a lot of renters, so he’s letting me stay here until I can find a more permanent place.”

Stevie took in the tiny space. She had never been to Ray’s house, but between David and Patrick’s descriptions and the sneaky pictures they had gotten before Patrick moved out, she would never have expected any place that Ray owned to look so cozy. 

The floor to ceiling windows on the other side of the cabin showcased the dense forest. There was a stone fireplace surrounded by a brown leather couch and a couple of overstuffed chairs. To the left was an itty bitty kitchen that looked like only one person could comfortably occupy it at any given time, with cream cabinets and a bowl of wax fruit. Everything was sleek and neutral, but warm and inviting at the same time. 

“It looks like you.”

Sunny grinned as she dropped her keys in the conveniently placed dish just inside the door and slipped off her shoes. Stevie followed her lead and enjoyed the feeling of the plush rugs between her toes as they made their way into the living room. 

They settled on opposite ends of the couch, facing each other. Stevie drew her legs up to her chest, Sunny propped her head in her hand. 

“So,” Stevie said.

“So.” 

“Do you bring all the girls back to your place on the first date?”

Sunny let out a surprised laugh, “Uh, no. I haven’t dated in a while, but I don’t bring many girls home, no.”

“Is it okay if I ask why you haven’t dated in a while?”

“Yeah,” Sunny took a moment before responding. “I was with my last girlfriend, Nadia, for eight years and then, a couple of years ago—our relationship ended, and it’s taken me a while to even feel like a person again, let alone to feel like dating.”

Stevie could tell there was more to the story, but she didn’t push. Things were still tenuous and she didn’t want to ruin the mood of the evening. 

“What about you? Do you get all the girls by taking them to pornographic art exhibits?”

It hadn’t occurred to Stevie until that moment, but Sunny might not take kindly to the fact that this was her first date with a woman. She couldn’t picture her getting outright upset, but she still might not be comfortable with it.

“Actually,” Stevie tucked her hair behind her ear, “I’ve never been with a woman before.”

She fiddled with the ends of her hair for a long moment, not looking up, until she couldn’t take the silence any more and had to see how bad the damage was. Only, when she finally did glance up, Sunny didn’t look upset at all. She had an understanding smile and such kind eyes, it was almost physically painful to look at. 

“Well,” Sunny started quietly, “how does it feel so far?”

Stevie laughed as she felt her eyes well up inexplicably, “Pretty good.”

Sunny’s smile widened as she leaned forward to wrap Stevie up in a hug. It was the first major contact they’d had and it took Stevie’s breath away. 

She sniffled, snuggling further into Sunny’s neck, noting that she smelled like vanilla, which reminded her just how hungry she was, prompting her stomach to let out a loud grumble. She felt Sunny chuckle before leaning back, brushing Stevie’s hair out of her face.

“How about I make us some dinner? I’ve got stuff for grilled cheese and soup, does that sound good?”

“Oh my god, yes please thank you.”

Sunny gave Stevie’s arm a gentle squeeze before getting up to poke through the kitchen. She watched Sunny from her spot on the couch, filled with contentment and wishing the date never had to end. Her phone buzzed on the coffee table and she saw it was a text from David.

_**David: Well??? I’m dying here.**_

Checking to make sure Sunny was preoccupied, Stevie responded with a string of incomprehensible emojis before turning her phone to silent and putting it back down.

Sunny was dancing around the kitchen as she cooked. Well, it was mostly wiggling to some tune she was humming under her breath, but it was so fucking cute that Stevie wasn’t sure her heart could handle this woman. 

“I’ve only got tomato soup, is that okay?”

“That’s perfect,” Stevie answered. 

They ate on the couch, sitting as close as possible without spilling their soup, grinning at each other like lovesick teenagers. Honestly, it was good they were in Ray’s cabin and not at a restaurant somewhere because they were probably too much for public consumption. David would never let her live it down if he could see what her face was doing. 

After dinner, they agreed to watch something and Sunny landed on some show about otters. It wasn’t long before Stevie was lying on her back with Sunny sprawled on top of her, snuggling. Stevie couldn’t remember the last time she had snuggled someone. It was possible it had never happened. 

She hadn’t even meant to do it, but eventually she realized she was carding her fingers through Sunny’s hair. 

It was just as silky and thick as she thought it would be, and she felt herself melting further into the couch as she followed the loose waves with her fingertips. Not long ago, she had really thought she was okay with going her whole life without this, that the occasional hookup with a random at a bar was enough for her. And maybe it would have been, she didn’t need a relationship to fulfill her, not when she had the Roses and her friends. But, she couldn’t deny that that moment, with a warm, happy Sunny resting on her chest, was something she’d cherish forever. 

“You remind me of an otter.”

Sunny laughed, “What? Brown and hairy?”

“No,” Stevie rolled her eyes. “Although, you are brown, and you do have great hair.”

“Thank you?”

“I just mean you’re smart and resourceful. And cute.”

Sunny turned her head to look at Stevie, her face more relaxed and open than Stevie had ever seen it. “You think so?”

Stevie nodded, getting lost in Sunny’s eyes until the episode ended with a loud commercial that burst their bubble.

Sunny sighed, “I guess I should probably get you back home, huh?”

Stevie looked up, surprised to see that it was officially dark out. She had no idea what time it was, but she was kind of tired after all of the excitement of the day, so the idea of crawling into bed sounded really appealing. 

They detangled reluctantly and gathered their things before locking up. The drive to Stevie’s apartment was cloaked in a peaceful quiet. Conjuring another bout of courage, she reached over and held Sunny’s hand once more, not letting go until they pulled up to her building.

“Tonight was awesome,” Sunny rubbed Stevie’s thumb with hers. 

“It was. I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun on a date before,” Stevie admitted. 

They stared at each other with shy smiles for a beat, before Sunny broke the silence, “Would it be okay if I kissed you?”

Stevie swallowed hard before nodding, meeting Sunny halfway when she started to lean in. 

The kiss wasn’t fireworks and the earth tilting on its axis. No, it was tender, igniting a spark in Stevie’s chest that spread throughout her entire body like honey, leaving a sweet taste on her tongue. She tilted her head, moaning softly when Sunny pressed further into her space, bringing a gentle hand up to cup the side of her face. Sunny’s lips were soft, so soft, and Stevie just barely managed to keep herself from straddling Sunny’s lap. They broke the kiss and rested their foreheads together, breathing hard. 

“I’ll see you Monday at the motel?” Stevie asked, her voice breathier than she’d ever heard it.

Sunny nodded, “You might want to prepare yourself for the image of me in a hardhat.”

“Oh, I’m gonna take so many pictures of that.”

Sunny laughed, “I’ll text you?”

“Okay,” Stevie nodded, sure her face was doing all kinds of embarrassing things.

Forcing herself out of the truck, Stevie waved as Sunny backed out and drove off. 

Monday couldn’t come soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3

Stevie woke slowly, stretching luxuriously and enjoying the fact that she had woken before her alarm. Except, the sun was already up…

Her eyes flew open as she grabbed her phone off the nightstand. It was dead. She must have forgotten to plug it in before falling asleep because she had stayed up later than usual texting with Sunny. Cursing herself, she plugged it in and stumbled into the kitchen to discover that she was already 23 minutes late for possibly the biggest day of her entire career. 

Fucking perfect.

She threw on some clothes, chugged a glass of water, grabbed her barely charged phone and ran out the door. The next thing she found would have been enough for her to turn around and go back to bed on a normal day, declaring it a wash, but that wasn’t an option. She had forgotten to get gas and didn’t have enough to even make it to the motel. Groaning at the injustice of it all, she decided to just hoof it. 

It was only a fifteen minute walk, but by the time she arrived, she was sweaty and flustered, just how she wanted to start such an important day. All of the crews were already there, along with Ronnie and Sunny. 

Sunny spotted her first, her face lighting up with a relieved smile, “Hey, I was just about to call you. We’re ready to go, but we didn’t want to start without you. Last chance to back out.”

“Sorry, my alarm didn’t go off, and I’m definitely not backing out. Start your engines or whatever.”

“All right, you heard her, get to work,” Ronnie shouted. The crews immediately sprung into action. 

“I believe I was promised the image of you in a hardhat,” Stevie said. 

Sunny wordlessly opened the door to her truck and pulled out a pair of neon hardhats, “I take safety very seriously, so I got one for you, too.”

Stevie frowned, but accepted the hat and put it on. Sunny somehow managed to make hers look good. The world was a cruel and unjust place. At least Stevie’s hid the worst of her untamed bedhead.

They started toward the office just as Roland came wandering out.

“Roland, what are you doing here? I told you to stay away from the motel until after construction is done.”

He puffed up defensively, “You know Stevie, I resent that. I know my way around a construction site and I would have been a real asset if you’d taken my experience seriously.”

Stevie rolled her eyes, “Ronnie and I have already told you, making stuff out of old milk crates is not the same as renovating an entire building.”

“I’ll have you know, Joss loves those bedside tables. Anyway, I forgot to clear out my stuff when you told me to last week and I couldn’t let anything happen to my magazines, so I came to pick them up.”

“Your what?”

“My magazines, you know,” Roland waggled his brows, “_those_ magazines.” When Stevie finally realized what he meant, she grimaced, sputtering in outrage. He continued, “I can’t keep them at my house! Jocelyn forbid it.”

Stevie closed her eyes, “You cannot keep a box of porn magazines at the motel, Roland.”

“Obviously,” he scoffed. “They’d get covered in sawdust, that’s why I came to get them. Sheesh, it’s like talking to Johnny.” 

Stevie stared blankly as he walked away. Once he was out of sight, she looked at Sunny who was barely holding back laughter, and who broke the second she met Stevie’s eyes. “Come on,” she threw an arm over Stevie’s shoulder, “let’s go over the schedule again.”

* * *

Things did go smoother after that first day. Ronnie, who should never be doubted ever in any way, was able to deal with an unexpected dry rot issue in record time, and the rest of the demolition went off without a hitch. Stevie tried valiantly to convince herself that it wasn’t a bad omen just how well everything was going, but it was difficult. Luckily, she discovered that sleepovers with Sunny significantly helped reduce her stress.

It was strange seeing the motel stripped down to its bones, taking away years of memories and cigarette smoke buildup. It was bittersweet. Mr. Rose even got a little teary when she FaceTimed him to show him the progress. 

“I can’t believe how much they’ve gotten done,” his tinny voice was hard to hear over the sound of the crews hard at work.

“I know, Ronnie says we’ll be able to move onto phase two soon,” Stevie held onto her hardhat at she carefully wandered through the rubble and debris. 

“That’s wonderful, dear,” Mrs. Rose poked her head into view. “Has Alexis finished her designs yet?”

“Yeah, I’m going to her office later to look at them and then she’ll email them to you.”

“Alright well, keep up the good work, Stevie. We’ve got to get going. The camels just arrived,” Mr. Rose turned the phone so Stevie could see a couple of men with camels standing on a sand dune, looking impatient. 

“Okay, bye.”

“Ciao!”

“Bye bye!”

The call ended and she shook her head in fond exasperation. It was probably for the best that they were out of the country. Mr. Rose would have been up in the builders’ business, distracting them and slowing everything down, and Mrs. Rose surely would have insisted on being more involved with the interior designs, which would have driven Alexis crazy. It was working out better this way, but she did miss them. 

She popped over to Alexis’ new office to see what she’d come up with for the interiors. 

“So based off of the style quiz you took and the pictures we went through together on Pinterest, I’m thinking a midcentury look with some rustic elements thrown in would be perfect,” Alexis pulled out a massive binder full of fabric swatches.

“That sounds good.”

Alexis looked at her, “You have no idea what I just said, do you?”

“No.”

“Ugh, Stevie, the interiors are the most important part of the whole renovation! Did you at least go buy those design magazines I told you about?”

“That would also be a no.” 

“Fine,” Alexis huffed. “Just look at my mood boards and tell me what you like and don’t like, although I doubt there will be anything you don’t like. I’m really good at this. Think you can handle that?”

Stevie nodded and they went through everything: the designs for the guest rooms, the office, the new laundry room, and the executive suite. Alexis wasn’t lying, she was really good. Everything was simple and inviting, just what she’d been hoping for. Stevie could almost picture herself sitting in the new office behind the sleek new desk. She loved it. 

She said as much and Alexis booped her nose before shooing her out in time for her next appointment. She was happy to go because there were only so many paint samples and types of bathroom hardware she could take in one afternoon. Plus, she had another date with Sunny to get ready for. 

* * *

“Can I ask you something personal,” Stevie asked as she watched Sunny prepare another meal for them. 

“Sure, but it’ll cost ya,” Sunny winked.

She played with a loose thread poking out of one of the cushions, “You said you’re close with your family, I’ve seen the photos on your dresser, and I was just wondering if they know—if they’re okay with—“

Sunny glanced over her shoulder, “Me being gay?”

Stevie nodded.

“Yeah, they’re okay with it. I came out in college and I’m pretty sure they had an inkling before that,” Sunny stirred the pot of bubbling chili. “I’m really lucky. I know not everyone’s family is as accepting, but they’ve been incredible. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

“Do you think you’ll visit soon?”

Sunny stayed quiet for a long moment.

“I want to. The last time I saw them, I wasn’t in the best place. They took care of me, but then I basically ran away and went into hiding,” she shrugged. “The longer I put it off, the harder it feels to go back. They’ve been trying to give me space, but I can tell they’re getting impatient. And my grandparents aren’t getting any younger, neither are my parents for that matter, so yeah. I might go soon.”

That only gave Stevie more questions, but like Sunny’s family, she didn’t want to push. 

It sounded nice, having a big close-knit family that loved and supported each other. It was like something out of a cheesy, made for TV movie, but apparently some people’s families really could be that way. Stevie didn’t even know where her parents were or if they were even still alive.

“I didn’t realize I was dating a runaway.”

Sunny walked over with a couple of steaming bowls, handing one to Stevie with a wistful smile, “I’m an international woman of mystery.”

She rolled her eyes with a grin, “You’re not that cool.”

Sunny gave her an offended look, “Eat your chili.”

Stevie fell asleep that evening, full and warm with Sunny in her arms, but she couldn’t stop thinking about how different their lives were. 

Sunny had lived and worked in multiple countries, designing cutting-edge buildings and having her work written about in architectural magazines. Stevie had lived in one small town her entire life and owned a recently-thriving motel.

Sunny had been with women since college and was comfortable in her identity. She knew who she was, meanwhile Stevie was still figuring herself out. Sunny had had a long-term, loving relationship with Nadia and Stevie wasn’t sure she’d ever been in love before.

Stevie’s family was a mess. The only time they ever saw each other was when someone died and they had an excuse to get drunk together, not exactly picturesque. Sunny had a family that supported her and wanted to be present in her life. They were there for her when she needed them and they got together for holidays and Sunny had all of their phone numbers programmed in her phone with emojis next to their names. 

Sunny’s life was like a holiday coffee commercial. Stevie’s…wasn’t. 

* * *

The next couple of months flew by. 

Phase two turned into phase three and the motel was back to looking like a real building. All that was left were the final touches before Alexis was able to get started implementing her designs.

Mr. and Mrs. Rose made it to Iceland, the last stop of their trip, and they were eager to get back to see all of the progress in person. 

David had agreed to take the motel on as a client again, now that their rebranding would make them more visually acceptable. I came with the caveat that Mr. Rose would not be involved in their partnership in any capacity, Stevie promised to the be point of contact. He still harbored some ill will after the lotion debacle. 

And Stevie and Sunny had spent virtually every waking moment together. When they weren’t working on the renovation, they were at each other’s places having dinner or going on dates on the weekends. Stevie was a little sad to see Sunny’s duties at the motel wrap up, but she had already gotten a new project in Elmdale that she was excited to start on. It was painfully cute watching her go into architect-mode with her little focused frown and her tongue poking out as she sketched. Stevie had finally allowed herself to relax and accept that things were simply going well for her for once. 

Of course, that was when the other shoe dropped. 

Monday morning dawned, bright and beautiful, putting a smile on Stevie’s face as she texted with Sunny on her walk into work. They’d stayed at their own places the night before because they both had early meetings. Stevie had one final walkthrough to do with Ronnie before everything was signed off on and the decorating could begin. 

Ronnie was efficient, checking every box on her list as they toured each room. It didn’t even feel like the same place anymore. The new walls and woodwork looked and smelled fresh, the paint brought a brightness the old rooms had never had, and the floors were free of stains and other signs of age. Even without the rugs and furniture, every space echoed with the promise of a better future. Stevie couldn’t believe it was hers. 

With everything approved, Ronnie thanked her for her business and left in search of lunch. Stevie decided to christen the new front desk with a sandwich and a video on her phone, enjoying the peace and quiet that hadn’t existed since construction began. 

She finished eating and checked to see if Sunny had responded to her last text, frowning when she saw that she hadn’t. Deciding that she was probably just working through lunch, Stevie went into the back room to admire the new soft-close cabinets. 

The sound of the front door opening startled her, she hadn’t been expecting anyone. She went back out to see who it was and her breath caught.

Standing in the middle of the lobby, looking around with disdain, was Chuck. Her dad. 

Their eyes locked, making his face break out in a sardonic smile, “Someone’s been busy.”

She forced herself to take another step into the room, hoping he couldn’t see her hands starting to shake.

“What are you doing here?”

“Heard you were renovating, figured I’d check it out, see what you’ve done with the place.” He continued looking around, running his finger along the desk as he walked over to the staircase and kicked at the bottom step. “Who’s cock did you have to suck to afford all of this?”

Stevie took a breath, “My partner donated the money.”

He scoffed, “I couldn’t believe it when I found out Maureen left this place to you. She never did have a mind for business.”

“We’ve been doing really well the past few years.”

“Hm,” he leaned against the post on the other side of the room, eyes boring into her. She wanted to look away, but he had her pinned to the spot. 

“We missed you at Carl’s funeral, and the, what was it, ten years before that?”

He smiled, revealing beer stained teeth, “Look who finally grew a spine. Wondered if you’d ever stop being a pathetic little piss-ant.”

She clenched her teeth. She was not going to fucking cry in front of him. He had no right to come back after so long without a word and make her feel small. He was nothing but a mean drunk and a deadbeat father, but if there was one thing he was good at, it was reminding her just how useless she was, making sure she hated herself more than he hated his own miserable life. 

Squaring her shoulders, she said, “You need to leave.”

Suddenly the door banged open, “Look who I found at the airport!”

Roland only made it a few steps inside, Mr. and Mrs. Rose following close behind, before he spotted her dad. His face went cold. 

“Surprise! We know we said we’d be home in a few weeks, but well, we missed everyone. So here we are!” Mr. Rose said as he set down a bag of luggage. 

Mrs. Rose noticed Stevie’s expression and narrowed her eyes at Chuck, “Can we help you?”

He ignored her, chuckling under his breath as he looked Roland up and down, “Damn, you haven’t changed a bit. Still looking like hell.”

“Chuck,” was all Roland said in response.

“Stevie, what’s going on?” Mr. Rose whispered, finally cottoning on to the energy in the room.

“Nothing, he was just leaving.”

She held her dad’s gaze, unflinching. He wasn’t welcome and she had every right to kick him out now, something she’d always dreamed of being able to do. 

Realizing he wasn’t going to win, Chuck relented, “Yeah, I’m going. Nothing in this fucking dump worth sticking around for anyhow.”

With that, he shouldered past Roland and left, leaving a loud silence in his wake. Stevie felt like a marionette whose strings had been cut as she leaned into the desk, letting out a sigh of relief. 

“Who was that?” Mr. Rose asked as he came around to join Stevie, putting a warm hand on her shoulder.

When she didn’t immediately answer, Roland explained, “That was Chuck Budd, Stevie’s dad.”

“That man was your father?” Mrs. Rose cocked her head, “I’m afraid I don’t see it.”

Stevie huffed a wet laugh, “That might be the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Mr. Rose had found a stool for her to sit on and she smiled at him in thanks as he offered it to her. 

“He’s not staying in town long, is he?” Roland asked.

“I don’t know. I doubt it. I think he just wanted to come make sure I wasn’t feeling too proud of myself.”

“I’ll let Jocelyn know he’s back and we’ll keep an eye out for him,” Roland nodded at her. “And I’ll see if Bob still has his chainsaws. He owes me.” 

“I’m not sure that’ll be necessary, but Stevie, if you’re not safe then you should come stay with us,” Mr. Rose offered with a worried frown. 

“Or at David and Patrick’s,” Mrs. Rose added.

Stevie shook her head, “I really appreciate that Mr. Rose, but he’s not dangerous. He just likes to mess with people’s heads. I’ll be okay.”

“If you’re sure…” Mr. Rose said. Stevie nodded and he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, “Okay then. Want to show us around?”

Grateful for the distraction, she showed the three of them all of the beautiful new floors and hardware and windows. She walked them through each room, describing what it would look like once Alexis’ vision came to life. She soaked up their proud smiles and her shoulders slowly relaxed. By the time they’d made it back to the office, she was exhausted. 

Mrs. Rose suddenly blurted that they had lots of people to visit and catch up with as she shuffled Roland and Mr. Rose out the door. 

Stevie sat back down on the stool for a moment, feeling proud of how far the motel had come, but unable to shake Chuck’s words from her mind. 

Business was good. The renovation was going well, due in no small part to her ability to manage the whole thing. The Rosebud Motel was and would continue to be a great place to stay under her and Mr. Rose’s management. She believed that. She did. But. But her fucking father had to come and undo all of her self-esteem with just a few stupid digs. 

The truth was, business hadn’t been good until Mr. Rose partnered with her, so maybe she wasn’t the girl boss Alexis liked to say she was. The renovation wasn’t just managed by her. Ronnie and Sunny played a massive role in getting everything together and making sure it ran smoothly. If Mr. Rose decided he did want to leave, the business could very well crash and burn. She still didn’t do math, and math seemed to be a very important component to running a business. 

Stevie shook her head with a frustrated huff. 

Mr. Rose wasn’t going to leave. The first thing he’d said when he got back was that he and Mrs. Rose had missed everyone. They weren’t going to just leave, not when their kids were established in Schitt’s Creek, and not when they personally had so much tying them to the town. They weren’t going to abandon everyone or the town they cared about.

And so what if Stevie wasn’t solely responsible for the motel’s success? No one truly did anything alone anyway. Having help didn’t diminish any of her contributions. She was a partner in a successful, growing motel in a town that was only getting bigger as time went by. That was something to be proud of, even if Chuck couldn’t see it. 

The thing she couldn’t work around, was the fact that her father was an asshole. Her entire family was made up of assholes. And if they weren’t assholes, they were absent or dead. The Budds were a shitty bunch of cards she’d been dealt and she was stuck with them. For a long time, it hadn’t been an issue, it was just something she kept carefully out of mind, but now that Sunny was in her life, it mattered. 

Sunny came from a loving family and she deserved to be with someone who could relate to that. Hearing about how fucked up Stevie’s childhood had been and how fraught her relationship was with her relatives might scare her off, and Stevie wouldn’t blame her. When you had a good family that accepted you and cared about you, why would you want to get mixed up with a bunch of damaged drunkards? 

Sunny was good. She was kind and smart and good. Stevie couldn’t bear the thought of being a dark spot in Sunny’s life, offering nothing but daddy issues and a never-ending battle with insecurity. 

Her phone pinged. 

_ **Patrick: Hey. We’re thinking of having wine and pizza tonight. You want in?** _

Stevie let out a wet laugh. News traveled fast.

A few years ago, after losing horribly in a game of Never Have I Ever at another one of their parties, Stevie had drunkenly spilled her family drama all over Patrick and David once everyone else had gone home. She barely remembered it, but she had woken up the next morning to hangover pizza and from there it had sort of become a code. Any time one of them had a bad day or needed a pick me up, they offered alcohol and pizza. It was a stupid, roundabout way of asking ‘are you okay’, but it worked for them. She didn’t know what she did to deserve such good friends. 

_**Stevie: I’ve got a frozen dinner for one calling my name, but thanks.**_

She knew she should go and let her friends comfort her, but she could feel Patrick’s concerned doe-eyes through the phone. She didn’t have the energy to rehash it all, she just needed ice cream and sleep. 

Remembering that she had plans to go to Sunny’s later, she pulled up their texts. 

_ **Stevie: I know we had plans tonight, but something’s come up. Raincheck?** _

Not waiting for a response, she grabbed her things and headed home. 

* * *

The next morning she hid away in her apartment, too fragile to see anyone, but she did text David to make sure he knew she was alive and he could relay that information to the rest of the Roses so they wouldn’t worry. It was only after she’d finished her third episode of one of the Real Housewives shows that she realized she had never heard back from Sunny.

She checked her phone and, sure enough, her raincheck text was the last one sent. That was strange. Sunny was usually diligent about not leaving texts unanswered and it had been radio silence from her since the previous morning. 

It took a few tries, but Stevie finally got herself upright and off the couch, before heading to the cafe. 

Twyla gave her a slightly concerned smile as she handed her a couple of coffees and a bag of chocolate chip muffins, Sunny’s favorite. 

The drive to the cabin barely registered as she thought up all of the horrible things that could have happened since yesterday morning. Surely if Sunny had gotten hurt someone would have called her. 

As she pulled up to the cabin and parked next to Sunny’s truck, the pit in her stomach grew heavier. She rang the doorbell, no answer. She rang it again, and after a moment of listening and not hearing any movement, she tried to peek through the window. It didn’t look like anyone was inside, so she pulled out her phone with shaky hands to text Sunny, letting her know she was there. Still no response. 

Officially panicking, Stevie dumped all of her stuff on the porch and ran to the tree she knew had a spare key nailed to it. Once inside, she called out, only to be met with more silence.

She bolted up the narrow staircase and felt the breath rush out of her at the sight of a Sunny-shaped lump in bed. She slowly walked into the room, “Sunny?”

The only acknowledgment she got was a pitiful sniffle that propelled her forward the last little bit so that she was sitting on the bed. She reached out, placing her hand gently on Sunny’s arm. Sunny burrowed further into her pillow, letting out a wet sob.

“I’m sorry. I—I can’t, I’m not—”

“Come here,” Stevie leaned back against the headboard and helped Sunny turn so that she was laying half on top of her. 

They lay there quietly while Sunny cried and Stevie stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head whenever she let out a particularly gut-wrenching whimper. She had no idea what was going on, but she’d never seen Sunny like that. It both scared her and fortified her. Fuck whatever stupid problems she’d been pouting over, Sunny needed her. She may not be able to fix her fucked up family or her past, but she could sure as hell cuddle her girlfriend. 

Eventually Sunny sighed, going lax in Stevie’s arms. “I’m sorry,” her voice broke.

“Mm-mm,” Stevie shook her head, pressing another kiss to her temple. 

Sunny sat up. Her eyes were red and puffy, she had pillow creases on her cheek, and she was paler than normal. Stevie’s heart clenched with how much she loved her—which was—whoa. 

Stevie reluctantly let Sunny go as she got up to grab something off of the dresser before sitting down next to her. It was a piece of folded up notebook paper. It was frayed at the edges and, while it looked innocuous, the way Sunny held it reverently in her trembling hands made it clear it was something precious. 

Sunny cleared her throat, staring intently at the paper, “I’m sorry for going AWOL on you. I got this in the mail yesterday and it, well it kind of fucked me up.” She unfolded the paper, revealing a sloppy sketch of a house, much like the ones Stevie was used to seeing strewn about the cabin. At the top of the page, it read: Sunny and Nadia’s Forever Home. “I told you Nadia and I were together for eight years, but I never told you how it ended.” She paused to steel herself, “I had gone on a business trip to London and I was out to dinner with my team one night when I got a call.” The pit in Stevie’s stomach was back in full force, so she took Sunny’s hand in hers. 

Sunny closed her eyes, “Nadia had been in a car accident. She was in the hospital in critical condition. I don’t even remember the flight back, but somehow I made it and went straight to the hospital. She passed away a few hours later.”

Stevie was sat there stunned. 

Sunny continued, “The first few weeks after that are a blur. I remember the funeral and my family cooking a lot, trying to keep me going, and that’s about it. I was pretty lost for a while. I stayed with my parents for about a month after, but one day I woke up and I just had to get out of there. I had to get away from all of the sympathy and the sad faces and my life because it wasn’t my life anymore. It looked the same, but it didn’t have Nadia and without her, it was just all wrong.

“So I moved. I moved to London and finished that job I had been working on and then I kept moving wherever I could find work. I didn’t make friends, I didn’t date, I didn’t visit my family. It was easier to pretend to be okay when my grandmother wasn’t standing right in front of me, seeing through all of my bullshit. But I couldn’t let her see who I had become. I was a shell, I was barely a person anymore. I worked and moved and worked, that was it. That was my whole life for a couple of years. 

“Uncle Ray started calling me and for some reason his calls were easier to take than anyone else’s. Probably because he can carry a conversation on his own with little to no input, but after so many stories of life Schitt’s Creek, I decided to move here. I realized cutting myself off from everyone wasn’t helping me deal with the pain, so I figured I’d start small by just coming back to Canada. I started seeing a therapist, too. My brother suggested that and he’s really good at convincing people to do stuff they don’t want to, but he was right. It’s been helping, but I guess I still wasn’t prepared for yesterday.

“Apparently Katya, that’s Nadia’s sister, was going through some of Nadia’s things and she found this in one of her journals,” she held up the paper. “She figured I would want it, so she sent it to me and it arrived yesterday.” Sunny sniffled, dropping her head into her hand. Stevie rubbed slow circles on her back.

“I’d forgotten about this. We got wine drunk on our last anniversary and sat on the living room floor in our tiny apartment, talking about our future. Did we want to get married? Did we want kids? What type of house would we want to settle down in? She told me to get out some paper and as she talked, I drew, coming up with this first draft of what would someday, what was supposed to someday, be our forever home.” 

Sunny looked at Stevie over her shoulder, her eyes so big and sad Stevie could hardly take it. “I didn’t think it would mess me up so much, but it brought everything back like it had just happened. I spent all day yesterday in bed and I don’t even know where my phone is.”

Stevie wiped her own tears off her face, “How about you take a shower and I’ll fix us something to eat?”

Sunny nodded and once she’d disappeared into the bathroom, Stevie got some fresh comfy clothes out for her and set them on the bed. She paused before picking up the sketch. 

It was a mess, all kinds of overlapping lines with things crossed out and scribbled over, but she could make out the basic shape of a floor plan. Unsurprisingly, it looked like it would have been a wonderful house. It would have been their house, her’s and Nadia’s, if things had gone the way they were supposed to. 

If things had gone the way they were supposed to. 

Stevie could argue that nothing ever went the way it was supposed to, or maybe that everything did. Whatever, she was too overwhelmed to be philosophical. If things had gone the way they were supposed to, Stevie would have had a stable family that actually loved each other and Sunny would be living somewhere else, happily building a home for her and Nadia to grow old together in. 

Shaking herself, she put the drawing down and went to the kitchen.

She was just finishing the second sandwich when Sunny padded down the stairs, damp and flushed from the hot water. They ate in their usual spots on the couch, quiet and contemplative. 

Sunny had located her phone and frowned at it, “What came up yesterday?”

“Hm?” Stevie grunted around her too-big bite of sandwich.

Sunny showed her the text she’d sent and Stevie tried to keep her face neutral. 

Sunny was recovering from an extremely emotional couple of days, the last thing she needed to deal with was Stevie’s family drama. Clearly she needed to work on her poker face, though, because Sunny cut her off before she could even come up with some transparent lie.

“Before you try to be self-sacrificial on my behalf, I’m fine and if something happened, I want to know about it. If you want to tell me. You’ve been here for me, I wanna do the same for you.”

Stevie swallowed, putting her plate on the coffee table, stalling. 

“It’s really not a big deal.” At Sunny’s doubtful expression, she sighed and continued, “My dad showed up at the motel yesterday.” 

Sunny turned to face her on the couch, settling in. 

“I haven’t seen him in a long time. My family isn’t like your family, we aren’t close. We don’t keep in touch and honestly it’s for the best because most of them aren’t very…nice.”

This time, Sunny took a hold of Stevie’s hand and, because she would forever be twelve years old apparently, Stevie blushed. “He’s never been my biggest fan and he came to remind me of that and tell me that basically my whole life is stupid and I’m destined to fail. He’s a real sweet guy.”

Sunny’s eyes flashed with indignation, “Fuck. Then what? Did he leave?”

“Well, Roland and Mr. and Mrs. Rose came in. They were trying to surprise me by coming home early, and he didn’t stick around long after that. He did manage to get a few good jabs in before he left, though, so now they all know what lovely stock I come from.”

“Good.”

Stevie frowned, “Good?”

“I’m glad they were there. You shouldn’t have to deal with that shit alone. I’m glad your real family was there.”

Stevie’s ears started ringing at the term ‘real family’. Sure, in the deepest recesses of her psyche she may think of the Roses as her family, and maybe for all intents and purposes they were a family, but no one had ever just said it. Out loud. In plain English.

“I mean,” Sunny hurried to continue at Stevie’s blank look, “I know you have a unique dynamic with them, and not to be rude to your biological family, but they don’t sound great? They don’t sound like they treat you the way a family should, so I’m glad you’ve found that in the Roses is all I meant. Sorry to make it weird…”

Stevie blinked a couple of times before lunging forward and kissing Sunny, who luckily had good reflexes and managed to keep them from toppling off the couch as she kissed back, gentling it after a moment.

Stevie tucked herself under Sunny’s chin and let herself be held. “I don’t know how he does it, but he has this ability to make me feel like nothing I do will ever be right. I hate it. He’s always been a shitty father, but there’s still a part of me that wants his approval. With the motel, I really wasn’t sure I could handle it, but everyone told me I could and then I did, and all it took was one fifteen minute appearance from him to wipe it all away. Anyway, that’s why I cancelled our plans last night. I needed time to think.”

“And did you? Think?”

“Yeah,” Stevie sighed. “I spiraled and convinced myself that everything good in my life was just a fluke and eventually I’d find a way to fuck everything up like I always do. Except, I don’t do that. He does that. I’m good at my job, and I’ve got a good—chosen family—I guess, and good friends and he doesn’t actually know anything about me or my life. 

“But when I was done working through all of that, I realized he and the rest of my relatives are still awful and I can’t fully cut them out of my life, so…”

“What?”

Stevie closed her eyes against the onslaught of insecurity and embarrassment and worry and shame, “I don’t want to drag you down with me. With them. They’ve left their mark on me and I can’t stand the thought of letting my issues affect you, so I thought about giving you an out before I had the chance to mess up your life.”

Sunny started shaking and Stevie hated herself for making her cry again. Fuck, this was exactly what she’d wanted to avoid. When she pulled away, her face went blank again because Sunny wasn’t crying. She was laughing.

“I’m sorry,” Sunny wiped at her eyes, pausing to catch her breath. “I just—we’re both idiots!”

Stevie couldn’t stop her own smile from breaking free as Sunny full on cackled, “What?”

“Stevie, I’m already such a mess, you can’t make it any worse. I didn’t tell you the whole story about Nadia because, like, it’s dark, okay? I was really fucked up for a long time and I still have bad days every once in a while. I’m in therapy every other week, and I haven’t visited my family in years. Does that sound like a healthy, untarnished person to you?”

“Um…”

“My girlfriend literally died. She died. We had plans, we were in love, I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with her and then she died. You having a shitty family sucks, and I wish you didn’t have to deal with that, but it doesn’t scare me. I love you.” Stevie’s chest fluttered. “Sweetheart, we’re pushing forty. It’s unrealistic to think life wouldn’t have fucked us up at least a little by now. I want you, damage and all.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” Sunny giggled a little hysterically. 

“I love you, too,” Stevie said, breathless.

Sunny smiled slowly as she leaned in for another kiss. 

It started out soft, but the mood quickly shifted and Stevie felt herself being pressed into the squishy throw pillows as the kiss deepened. Her entire body went hot as Sunny settled on top of her, stroking the side of her face. 

Sunny pulled away, breathing hard with heavy-lidded eyes, before sliding down Stevie’s body, taking her sweatpants with her. 

Stevie sighed happily as she relaxed further into the pillows. 

Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

A knock at her door made Stevie grin and put down her fork, abandoning her breakfast to answer it. 

David, Patrick, and Alexis were waiting with their own excited smiles when she opened it.

“Ready?” Patrick asked. She nodded and quickly grabbed her things before following them out. 

It was a big day.

They walked, Alexis and David linking arms with her on either side, as they chatted about the party they’d planned for later and who was responsible for the cake. A few minutes later and there it was. They stopped, taking it all in, and Stevie didn’t even bother trying to stop her tears from forming.

The Rosebud Motel stood proudly, with its new siding and upgraded signage and perfectly curated landscaping, as people milled about in the freshly paved parking lot, spilling over into the brand new garden. A local camera crew was setting up next to their truck as Roland fussed with Mr. Rose’s hair, much to his annoyance. Mrs. Rose watched on fondly until she spotted them, waving them over. 

“Stevie, you look positively pulchritudinous my dear. Come, they’re almost ready for you.” She straightened Stevie’s collar before nudging her toward the camera. 

The interview was mercifully quick. Mr. Rose did most of the talking and then the hard part of the day was over.

She turned to marvel at the motel. 

For a couple of months, it had seemed like they may never actually make it to this day. Construction has that effect, but they made it, and she felt herself tear up again as she took in the cream-colored siding and the stonework and the grass and the green front door with a little window and the planters overflowing with purple and yellow flowers. It was exactly how she’d imagined it. 

They had a couple of VIP guests staying that night to write up reviews before they officially opened to the public, but Stevie found she wasn’t nervous at all. They’d have to be crazy to find anything negative to say, so long as they kept Roland busy and Mrs. Rose off of desk duty. 

Speaking of desk duty, their new employee arrived, looking a little nervous. 

“Hi,” Ameena waved before doing a little spin, “Do we like the uniform?”

Calling it a uniform was a bit of a stretch, but Stevie had reluctantly agreed with Mr. Rose that the employees needed to match the aesthetic of the motel now, which meant they all had to wear clean button downs and either slacks or ‘nice’ jeans. Stevie convinced Mr. Rose to let her wear sneakers since he was still going to be wearing his suits. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be too put out when David so kindly reminded her that she once said the mark of a good business owner was being willing to compromise. 

“You look great. Should we head on in?” Mr. Rose asked the group.

Stevie led them all inside, Ameena following Mr. Rose to the desk to get everything set up. David nabbed a cinnamon roll from the table of assorted snacks just inside the door. 

She was inspecting the runner on the staircase one last time when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw it was a text from Sunny, telling her to look up. She frowned, but looked up and saw Sunny smiling at her through one of the windows, beckoning her outside. Everyone was busy admiring one thing or another, or arguing about not eating all of the cinnamon rolls, so she was able to slip out unnoticed. 

“Hey,” Sunny wrapped her arms around Stevie’s waist and gave her a quick kiss. 

“Hey,” Stevie grinned, settling into her embrace. 

“Happy Grand Reopening Day, baby.”

Butterflies erupted in Stevie’s stomach at the pet name. It was honestly sickening how much she loved it, but she had never had a partner use terms of endearment with her before, and she decided to try this new thing where she just let herself have what she wanted. She pressed her head bashfully into Sunny’s shoulder to hide her pleased smile. 

“I can’t believe we’re finally here.”

“I know. I’m so proud of you. Are you happy with how everything turned out?”

A few months ago, Stevie got the fright of her life, thinking that the Roses were going to leave town and that life as she knew it was effectively over. She never could have anticipated what would follow that fateful conversation. 

She had successfully project managed a full-fledged renovation and hadn’t lost her mind in the process. She did it all without Mr. Rose there to help her and she felt more confident in her managerial abilities than ever before. 

She found a love that she hadn’t thought was possible, at least not for her, and opened herself up in a way she never had with past partners. For the first time in her life, she felt fully seen and accepted and loved. 

She had survived a visit from Chuck, and while she was sure it wouldn’t be the last, she wasn’t as afraid of him anymore. He didn’t have the same power over her that he once had. She was free. 

Stevie kissed Sunny again, smiling against her lips, “Yeah. I’m really fucking happy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that read this little story, liked it, and commented. It means so much! Also thank you for disregarding my supremely unrealistic construction timeline.


End file.
